NOFX

'NOFX' is an American punk rock band formed in Berkeley, California, in 1983.^[2]
The original lineup included singer/bassist Fat Mike (Mike Burkett), drummer Erik Sandin, and guitarist Eric Melvin. Since 1991 (and after several line-up changes) El Hefe (Aaron Abeyta) has played second guitar and trumpet. The band rose to popularity in 1994 with their album Punk in Drublic which was certified gold.^[3]
NOFX has released 10 studio full lengths, 15 EPs, and many 7" singles. The group has sold over 6 million records worldwide, and are one of the most successful independent label bands of all time ^[4]

Contents

Career

Music style and influences

Relationship with the media

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

EPs

Singles

Splits

Compilations

Videos

See also

References

External links

Career

NOFX’s first recording was a demo from 1983, produced by Germs drummer Don Bolles, which did not sell any copies. They released their self-titled debut EP ''NOFX'' on Mystic Records in 1985, which was later re-released in 1992 as part of the ''Maximum RocknRoll'' CD. For a year, Erik Sandin left the band and was replaced by Scott Sellers, and later by Scott Aldahl. Dave Allen was in the band for about four months, until he died in a car accident. In 1986, the band released “So What if We’re on Mystic!” Dave Casillas joined the band on second guitar in 1987 and was featured on the EP ''The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This!'', attacking the PMRC’s campaign for music censorship. The original cover was an edited S&M photo; the cover for the re-released version was changed to a photo of Eric Melvin.

Dave then left the band and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller (''a.k.a.'' ‘Steve the Caucasian’). They recorded ''Liberal Animation'' in 1988 (before Dave was replaced by Steve) with Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. Although the title and some of the album’s lyrics mocked vegetarianism and animal rights, Fat Mike says that he became a vegetarian after writing the Liberal Animation album.^[5] The album was re-released in 1991 on Gurewitz’s label Epitaph Records. NOFX had signed to Epitaph by 1989, releasing their second album ''S&M Airlines''. 1990 saw the release of ''Ribbed''. By 1991, the band’s lineup had undergone numerous changes; however, the original three members had reunited, and Aaron Abeyta (''a.k.a.'' El Hefe) joined to round out the group. ''White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean'' was released in 1992. (The original intended title, ''White Trash, Two Kikes, and a Spic'', was changed because Eric Melvin’s grandmother was upset about the racial epithets.^[5])
It was not until the 1994 release of ''Punk in Drublic'' that the band had a commercial breakthrough, with the album going gold. In the same year, ‘pop’ punk entered the mainstream with the success of The Offspring’s ''Smash'' and Green Day’s ''Dookie''. ''Punk in Drublic'' was followed by 1996’s slower ''Heavy Petting Zoo'' and 1997’s ''So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes'', a return to faster punk, as exemplified by the frenetic opening track, “It’s My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite.” In 1999, the band released ''The Decline'', an 18-minute single-track EP which served as a fiery and cynical social commentary. This was followed by the full-length album ''Pump Up the Valuum'' in 2000.
In 2003, NOFX released ''War on Errorism'', an album of political songs. It became the start of their anti-George W. Bush campaign, and a rallying point for leftist punks. Fat Mike organized the website ''punkvoter.com'', compiled two chart-topping ''Rock Against Bush'' CDs, and kicked off a Rock Against Bush U. S. tour. The band has released many EPs (''e.g.'', ''Fuck the Kids'' and ''The Longest Line'') on Fat Mike’s own label Fat Wreck Chords. In February 2005, the band launched the NOFX 7" of the Month Club, a subscription-based service which saw the release of one new EP almost monthly, from February 2005 to March 2006 (a total of 12 releases). The cover art for these EPs were chosen from fan-submitted entries. The first 3000 subscribers to the club received all of their records on colored vinyl. Fat Wreck Chords later released full sets of the EPs.
On March 14, 2006, the EP ''Never Trust a Hippy'' was released. This EP was followed on April 18 by the full-length album ''Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing''. On September 12, 2006, the video game EA Sports NHL07 was released, featuring ''Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing'' on its soundtrack, produced by Bill Stevenson and Fat Mike.
In January 2007, the band recorded two nights of shows in San Francisco, California, for an upcoming live album entitled ''They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live'', set to be released in November 2007. The live album is described on the press release as “their sloppiest, drunkest, funnest, best sounding recording ever … and they even made sure not to play any songs off their 1995 live album ''I Heard They Suck Live''.”^[4]
NOFX launched a world tour in September 2007, which included concerts in Israel (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa). During their final concert in Israel (7 September in Haifa), vocalist Fat Mike inadvertently struck guitarist Eric Melvin with his bass guitar during their performance of “Bottles to the Ground,” breaking the guitar’s neck and leaving a bloody gash on Eric Melvin’s forehead. (The band completed their scheduled set amidst the audience’s cheers to Eric Melvin’s good humor and perseverance.) On September 8th 2007 the band has given their first concert in Turkey